A bishop ordained in China's state-sanctioned church has received tacit approval from the Vatican despite rising tensions between the pope and the Chinese government, a Vatican-affiliated Web site reported last month

Christian Century, Nov 15, 2005

A bishop ordained in China's state-sanctioned church has received tacit approval from the Vatican despite rising tensions between the pope and the Chinese government, a Vatican-affiliated Web site reported last month. According to AsiaNews.it, the Holy See appointed Paul He Zeqing to the post of auxiliary bishop at the diocese of Wanxian in central China, and the Chinese government endorsed the move.

Bishop Joseph Xu Zhixuan reportedly told clergy present at the ordination ceremony that the Holy See had given its nod to He, making him the third bishop ordained under such terms. An estimated 5 million Chinese Catholics belong to the state-controlled church, which severed ties with the Vatican in 1951 after China's Communist Party took control of the government. The underground Catholic Church is believed to have at least 8 million faithful.